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AOPS Geometry -- need to prep for PSAT/NMSQT in October, questions


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Will you please help me figure this out?  I appreciate your time and advice. 

 

DD 15 (9th grade) will complete AOPS Intro to Algebra in a few weeks (mid to late April).  It's my understanding that she's covered everything for Algebra I now.

 

Question: Should she take AOPS Geometry when she finishes Intro to Algebra, or will she need the skills from Number Theory and Counting and Probability first? Should she take MUS Geometry or Khan at the same time she takes AOPS NT and CP?

 

Background: She has not taken any geometry or physics yet.  She is working on Intro to Algebra with a tutor.  She covered AOPS pre-algebra in just a few months. However, she took pre-algebra with MUS the year before (she decided MUS would not take her where she wants to go in math, so she re-did pre-algebra using AOPS). Her total time for both pre-algebra and Intro to Algebra combined for both will be 10 months when she completes the book in April. Still,I have read of 8th graders finishing algebra I and that concerns me as she may be behind.

 

She has not had any Algebra II or Geometry yet. (well, except for the few last chapters of Intro to Algebra which supposedly correlate to Algebra II) 

 

She plans to take the PSAT/NMSQT in both 10th and 11th grades. She took the PSAT 8/9 without prep to get a baseline and her math score was only 560.  At the time, she had only completed a few chapters of AOPS Intro to Algebra.

 

Her personal goals change every few months but she wants to go to college. 

 

Do you have any advice or insight? Thank you.

 

 

 

Edited by treasuremapper
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First, you have covered a standard algebra 1 and algebra 2 curriculum with AOPS Intro book.

 

Geometry is the next logical book to prepare for standardized testing. NT and C&P are enrichment subjects for kids who chew through math books too fast and need gifted content, but they do not cover topics on the SAT and ACT.

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Janet, thank you for responding to help me.

 

She has covered Algebra II (or will have in a few weeks)?!  I thought Intro to Algebra covered Algebra I in the first 18 chapters, then Algebra II in the last four chapters? 

 

I find the AOPS naming very confusing. I thought Intermediate Algebra was Algebra II?

 

I was nervous because people imply that AOPS Geometry is very difficult.  

 

I appreciate your help.

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I'd say Algebra 1 is the first 13 chapters and the rest is Algebra 2. There are a few other topics (matrices, parabolas, ellipses) that are not covered but are sometimes covered in algebra 2, sometimes in precalc.

 

As far as the geometry book, it is long and covers geometry much more deeply than most geometry books. My two kids with learning disabilities found the geometry book easier than algebra - both are very visual spacial kids. My other son found them equally difficult. I kept thinking he'd hit a wall with the geometry book and then we'd finish up with something easier, but it never happened and he finished the book.

 

As far as standardized testing, she will have covered almost all the math in the AoPS Intro to Algebra and Geometry books. Will need a little bit more that is covered in precalc.

 

 

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I wouldn't do anything specific to prep for the PSAT as a 10th grader.   When you get her detailed score report back, then you will have a year to address any areas she may not have been exposed to before it "counts" for her 11th grade year.   

 

My DS took the PSAT in October as a 9th grader, and his math score was 600.  The only subsection he didn't score within the highest benchmark was the "passport to advanced math."   His math teacher, who does SAT/ACT boot camps, told me that the new SAT/PSAT does cover more Algebra II and Trig than the old SAT, but that some of that Trig content would be taught in Geometry this year.   I fully expect his score to be higher next fall, when he's taking Algebra II, and possibly even a bit higher the following year, when he'll be taking Pre-Calc.

 

I think your DD is on the right track!

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Thank you for all of your help and insight. I went back to her score report and found I had inflated her score in my memory, it was 560, not 580.  Ha!  

 

So you would plow forward with AOPS Geometry? I'm going to go with your advice!  Good point about having an entire additional year before taking the PSAT for real.

 

Isn't the 8/9 easier than the NMSQT? 

 

 

 

I appreciate your feedback and insight.  

Edited by treasuremapper
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You have completed what AOPS calls Algebra 1, but which a typical high school curriculum would call Algebra 1 and 2.

 

Yes, there is an Intermediate Algebra book available from AOPS. It is an even deeper Algebra 2 plus a start on Precalc topics.

 

The Precalc book is also an advanced course with more topics than the typical high school textbook.

 

AOPS marches to its own drummer.

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The 2016 PSAT test had 1 Geometry problem on it.  Maybe one other that dealt with geometry but in the kind of problem you would see in an algebra book. If it were me I would just have my child continue on enjoying math and learning math deeply and not give another thought to the tests at this point. 

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